Baby Reindeer’s “real-life” Martha, Fiona Harvey, has decided to take legal action against Netflix.
The alleged stalker will sue the streaming platform and the show’s creator Richard Gadd over the depiction, which she has claimed is “defamatory”.
The woman said that she had been forced into telling her side of the story following the death threats she has received following the release of the show.
The series landed on Netflix last month and left viewers glued to their seats for the whole eight episodes.
The limited series, starring Richard Gadd and Jessica Ganning, depicts the real-life story of the actor’s experience with a female stalker – who has since been identified as Fiona.
In a tell-all interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Fiona attempted to “set the record straight.”
During the interview, she repeatedly denied stalking Richard in real life and described the show as “a work of fiction, a work of hyperbole.”
The 58-year-old admitted that she was ready to go to court to defend herself against allegations made against her in the series.
Piers asked her if she would “categorically be taking legal action,” to which she firmly replied: “Absolutely, against both him (Gadd) and Netflix.”
She then confessed: “We want to explore all the options out there, there are a number of people to sue.”
Fiona then spoke about a scene in the show where Martha receives a nine-month prison sentence after admitting to stalking Donny.
“That is completely untrue, very, very defamatory to me, very career damaging,” she said.
“I wanted to rebut that completely on this show – I am not a stalker, I have not been to jail, I’ve not got injunctions – it is complete nonsense.”
Last month, Fiona broke her silence for the first time following the release of the show, and said: “I’m the victim.”
The streaming service described the hit show: “When comedian-slash-barman Donny offers a lonely woman a drink in a Camden pub, he never expects a free cuppa would come with a side of obsession.”
The captivating show is based on Richard’s one-man play, which he debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
In the series, the comedian’s character Donny offers Martha, played by Jessica Ganning, a drink while at the bar he works at, unknowingly starting the nightmarish situation.
At first, she appears to be friendly, but her behaviour slowly becomes obsessive as she begins to stalk Donny both online and in real life.
Over the span of four and a half years, Richard revealed that he received 41,071 emails, 744 tweets, letters totalling 106 pages and 350 hours of voicemail messages from the older woman [Martha in the show].
The creator of the show, who spoke from personal experience, explained that he disguised the identity of his stalker and said: “I don’t think she would recognise herself.”
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Fiona, who was unnamed at the time, claimed to be Richard’s stalker and opened up about the incident.
She claimed that the series is “bullying an older woman on television for fame and fortune” and that she had received “death threats and abuse from Richard Gadd supporters” since its release.
“He’s using Baby Reindeer to stalk me now, I’m the victim. He’s written a bloody show about me,” she said.
“She sort of looks like me after I put on four stone during lockdown but I’m not actually unattractive.”
Watch the full interview here:
